Driving through the Midwest you encounter giant wind turbines, taller than the Statue of Liberty, pumping electricity into the grid. One hundred years ago, and even more ubiquitous, were the smaller mechanical windmills pumping water from underground.
Pumping water from beneath the ground in the semi-arid environment of the western Great Plains made settlement possible. As technology advances, solar powered water pumps are now cheaper, mechanically simpler and require less maintenance. Therefore, those scenic windmills are gradually disappearing through neglect.
The Kregel Windmill Company began working on windmills in 1879 in Nebraska City, NE.
In 1903, they expanded into a one-story state-of-the-art windmill factory producing the ELI brand of windmills.
From there they supplied southeast Nebraska with a dependable means of acquiring drinking water for both people and livestock.
The rationing of metal ended the manufacturing part of the business during World War II.
However, the Kregel Windmill Factory building still exists. It is now a windmill museum.
In a world where things are more electric and less mechanical, it is fascinating to stroll through the museum and marvel at the beauty of the machinery, the imagination, the skill, manpower and craftsmanship required to build so many windmills.
The museum looks the same as the day the factory closed. It is as if you stepped back decades in time as you pass through the doorway.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
